Queer Museology and Japanese Artistic Heritage: Rereading the Collections and Institutional Activism

This thesis examines queer curatorial practices aimed at advancing LGBTQIA+ rights and visibility through the interpretation of Japanese art heritage and within Japanese museum contexts. Its objectives are to analyze key initiatives in both international and domestic museums, to identify and map museum professionals, artists, and activists working at the intersection of art and queerness in Japan, and to evaluate which strategies of queer curating are most necessary and beneficial, alongside the challenges and opportunities facing the museum sector in Tōkyō. This research adopts a qualitative, multi-method approach that combines case study analysis with semi-structured interviews from the perspective of researchers and museum professionals working in the field. Four case studies are examined, investigating strategies such as queering historical Japanese art collections and queering museums as contemporary institutions, while addressing practical challenges and limitations, including funding, sponsorship, censorship, and public critique, all situated within the broader sociopolitical landscape of LGBTQIA+ rights. The interviews were conducted with eleven participants, including Japanese activists, artists, researchers and curators involved in decolonization and DEAI initiatives, as well as members of national and international networks engaged in debates on contemporary museology, such as ICOM. By doing so, the study aims to fill a significant gap in the existing literature, which is largely concentrated on European and American contexts, while case studies from Asia, especially Japan, remain scarce.